very minor note on "lady" (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Laurence Horn]

At 12:33 PM -0400 4/19/11, victor steinbok wrote:
>I withdraw my comment. "Bag woman" is common, but clearly not as
>common as "bag lady". But it also lead at least a couple of companies
>to use "bag woman" as a tongue-in-cheek brand name for purses and
>other assorted "women's" bags. I guess my "preference" was attached to
>the incident in Boston, when a state rep helped a rather famous "bag
>lady" after she got struck by passing cars in front of her home on
>several occasions. A few months later, the woman finally was killed
>when yet another car hit her. At that point, it came out that she
>carries over $1 million in her bags and that she actually left a will
>that had been changed to make the state rep and his assistant as her
>beneficiaries. Her sister, who had not spoken to her for over 50
>years, contested the will and won. My recollection was that the Boston
>Globe and other local publications used "bag woman" as neutral,
>instead of what might have been perceived as "affectionate" in "bag
>lady".
>
>She'll always be a "bag lady" to you, Jon. I can see a variant of a
>song with that line.
>
>VS-)

...and neither "bag man" nor "bag gentleman" are possible (relevant)
formations, although for different reasons.

LH

>
>On Tue, Apr 19, 2011 at 10:44 AM, Jonathan Lighter
><wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>  I'm with Bill.
>>
>>  A "bag lady" is a bag lady.  To some she might be a "bag woman," but to me
>>  that can only be a lady who who collects and delivers bribes, bets, etc.,
>>  for crooks.  Like a bagman, only a lady.
>>
>>  JL
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org